Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune is one of the best beat writers around, and he gives us some insights on Notre Dame — its football team and its perception of Michigan State — leading into Sunday’s game.

Q: Two years ago, we heard how Tommy Rees was too much of a gambler for his own good. Is he now the safe, sensible senior? Is it possible Notre Dame will be better off with him at QB this season instead of Everett Golson?

A: What Tommy Rees has done through the first three games of 2013 compared with his last year as the regular starter in 2011 is making better decisions and extending plays with his feet. He certainly has a command of the offense, but there still are physical limitations that elite defenses might expose. Michigan State is the first of four straight opponents for the Irish who rank in the top 25 nationally in total defense and the top 20 in pass-efficiency defense. No disrespect to Rees, but Golson is the better fit for Brian Kelly’s offense and certainly made significant progress in terms of command of the playbook before he was sidelined by a seasonlong suspension.

Q: Who's the best of the stable of running backs?

A: George Atkinson is the fastest, Amir Carlisle the most versatile, Cam McDaniel the toughest, but I think the most talented back on the roster is freshman Greg Bryant — and classmate Tarean Folston is in the conversation.

Q: What's been the problem on defense so far — a particular position, bad tackling overall, good opposing offensive play?

A: The pieces overall may be more talented but they don’t fit together well — at least through three games. Manti Te’o was not only a pain for opposing offenses to deal with in the middle of that defense, he was the glue in terms of leadership and chemistry. The way opposing offenses have attacked ND to this point, they feel like the middle is the soft spot in the 2013 defense. If the Irish can fix it, I think the other parts of the defense will fall in line.

Q: Has defensive tackle Louis Nix III been as dominant as hoped? Who's the best pro prospect on this defense?

A: Nix is at a position where you’re not always rewarded statistically for good play. If you can absorb double or triple teams and free up your linebackers to make plays, you’re making your defense better. I still expect him to play at a higher level. Nix is projected as the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2014 draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., in his latest rankings released Wednesday. ESPN colleague Todd McShay concurs. Stephon Tuitt is still projected as a mid-first-round pick. The best long-term prospect is freshman outside linebacker Jaylon Smith, who has an incredibly high ceiling but still looks, at times, like a freshman.

Q: Everyone is ranking rivals these days, so where do you think Michigan State lands in the Notre Dame pecking order? I guess old-timers and current players could have very different views on something like that. Why is it a priority to preserve the MSU series?

A: The history of Michigan State-ND is very important to the old guard at Notre Dame because the Spartans were willing to play ND when a lot of other Midwestern teams were not willing decades ago. I think, at least with this ND president and this athletic director, MSU will be a scheduling priority with occasional two-year roll-offs. As for the younger generation, I would say USC is still the program ND measures itself against from a fans’ perspective. I would put MSU probably at No. 4 on the intense-o-meter, behind USC, Michigan and Boston College. Navy is an important rival but not in an intensity sense.

Q: Now that Brian Kelly has taken Notre Dame to the BCS title game, is he untouchable?

A: Obviously, you haven’t learned how to hack into my email. In other words, no.

Q: Your keys to the game, and a prediction if you care to give one.

A: Running the ball effectively stands at the top of the keys list. Kelly is 25-2 during his time at ND when his teams outrush their opponent. MSU is 27-3 during the same time frame (2010-present). And since 2002, within the rivalry, the winner of the rushing battle also was the winner on the scoreboard in every game but the nutso 2006 Irish comeback in East Lansing. No. 2 from the Irish standpoint is getting Connor Cook to have to win or lose the game with his arm. The Irish don’t want him running around and facing a lot of third-and-shorts. If DE Sheldon Day (ankle) isn’t able to go or is limited, that will be a much more difficult plan to execute. Turnovers are always a factor when Rees is the QB — plus or minus. I’d like to predict 5-3, but I will go with a more conventional score of Notre Dame 19, MSU 13.

Thanks, Eric, very interesting stuff. Joe here again. It’s often mentioned how thankful MSU is to Notre Dame for playing in the early days, and not mentioned nearly as often that the gratitude goes both ways. As for the Spartans coming in behind Boston College on the intensity scale — ouch. MSU fans probably don’t like hearing that. You’d think the Spartans’ success in the series over the past couple decades, and the fact that this game usually gets more attention than ND-BC, would have at least warranted a No. 3 slot.

On this particular game, I’m thinking very much the same thing, just giving the Irish one more field goal. Notre Dame has outrushed MSU 236 to 79 combined in the past two meetings. It was 203-92 Spartans in their last win, the “Little Giants” game of 2010. It’s not difficult to figure out where this game has been won and probably will be won Saturday.